World War I Draft Registration Cards
by Warren Blatt
INTRODUCTION
| Over twenty-four million--- men registered for the
draft for the First World War in 1917 and 1918. There
were three draft registrations, which eventually included
all men (whether native born, naturalized, or alien) between
the ages of 18 and 45.
One unique feature of these records is that they
contain the exact place of birth -- town/village,
county/province,
state/nation -- for registrants born between June 6,
1886 and August 28, 1897 (those aged 21-31 who registered in
the 1st or 2nd drafts, about 45% of the total). This
may be the ONLY source for determining the town of origin of
someone who was never naturalized, or someone who was
naturalized via their father's papers before 1906.
|
THREE REGISTRATIONS
During World War I there were three
registrations:
| 1- |
The first, on June 5, 1917,
was for all men between the ages of 21 and 31. |
| 2- |
The second, on June 5, 1918, registered
those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. (A
supplemental registration was held on August 24, 1918
for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918.
This was included in the second registration.) |
| 3- |
The third registration was held on September
12, 1918 for men aged 18 through 45. |
At each of the three registrations, a different form was
used, with a slight variation of questions asked. All
three registrations include full name, home address, exact
date of birth, age in years, occupation, name and address of
employer, citizenship status, citizen of what country, race,
eye color, hair color, height, build, city/county and state of
the local draft board, date of registration, and signature of
applicant.
At the first registration, the following additional
information was recorded: exact birthplace, dependents,
marital status, previous military service, and grounds for
exemption. At the second registration, the following
were also recorded: exact birthplace, nearest relative and
address, and father's birthplace. At the third
registration, for men aged 18-21 and 31-45 (born between
September 13, 1873 and September 12, 1900), the name and
address of nearest relative were also recorded. Although the
2nd and 3rd drafts ask for name and address of nearest
relative, they don't specify what the relationship is. Note
that the third registration did NOT request birthplace.
The registration cards consist of 24.2 million cards of
men who registered for the draft (about 23% of the American
population in 1918).
|
ARRANGEMENT
| The records are arranged alphabetically by the name of
the state; thereunder alphabetically by name of the county or
city; thereunder by draft board (for large cities); thereunder
alphabetically by the names of registrants.
For those in rural areas, one
should be able to find a registrant's card by knowing his name
and the county in which he registered. In
large cities and in some large counties, the search can be
more difficult -- knowing a street address is usually
necessary to determine the correct draft board. For
instance, there were 189 local boards in New York City, 86 in
Chicago, and 25 in Boston. (See "Finding Aids"
below).
|
AVAILABILITY
| The original draft registration cards are stored at the
National Archives - Southeast Region near Atlanta. These
records are currently being microfilmed by the Genealogical
Society of Utah (The Mormons) for the National Archives.
Since 1987, they have filmed states A-S alphabetically (plus
Wisconsin), over 3,500 reels of microfilm thus far. They
will soon complete the remaining states, T-W, and the
resulting series will comprise National Archives Microfilm
Publication M1509.
These microfilms are available at the Family History
Library in Salt Lake City, and are thus available for
borrowing through all local Family History Centers. The
films are also available at the National Archives in
Washington, and the twelve Regional Archives will receive the
films for the states corresponding to their regions as filming
proceeds.
|
HOW TO ACCESS
| You currently have two avenues to access these records:
either from the National Archives - Southeast Region, or via
the Mormon Family History Centers.
To have the National Archives staff search these
records for you, get a "World War I Registration Card
Request" form, or send a letter to:
National Archives - Southeast
Region
1557 St. Joseph Avenue
East Point, GA 30344
(404) 763-7477
Enclose a check for $10.00 for each request payable to
"National Archives Trust Fund"; they will return
your check if the record is not found. For each card
requested, supply the full name, approximate date of birth,
and the place of residence when he registered. (A street
address is required for urban areas) The response time
is about two weeks.
Alternately, you can search the records yourself, by
borrowing microfilms through LDS Family History Centers.
You can find the microfilm numbers in the Family History
Library Catalog (FHLC) microfiche, in the Locality section
under the heading "UNITED STATES - MILITARY RECORDS -
WORLD WAR, 1914-1918", or on the FamilySearch
computer CD-ROM under number 504818.
|
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
National Archives
and Records Administration Draft Registration |
